The hanging painting of the Buddha, or gwaebul (掛佛), is a large drawing of the Buddhas or Bodhisattvas that is fitted into a scroll painting and hung during special ceremonies or rituals. Originally, they depicted an image appropriate to the nature of the ceremony. Therefore, a hanging painting describing the Buddha’s sermon on the Vulture Peak accompanied the yeongsan-jae (靈山齋), a form of the forty-ninth-day funerary ceremony, while the Land and Water Ceremony, or suryuk-jae (水陸齋) is adorned by the drawing of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva’s assembly or that of the ten kings of the underworld. Today, however, it is very rare to find examples of setting up a gwaebul specifically prescribed for the ritual. 

It appears that gwaebuls were mainly used for ceremonies dedicated to guiding the dead, the Land and Water Ceremony, or rainmaking rituals. This is partially evidenced by the fact that most of the surviving gwaebuls were created after the 17th century when Korea was beset by disaster after disaster, such as wars, floods, and famines. 

The Hanging Painting of the Buddha at Jukrim-sa Temple in Naju features Shakyamuni Buddha and is the earliest of the approximately 110 gwaebuls that are still extant in Korea. It is in the form of a scroll, and the drawing is 437.6 cm high and 240.4 cm wide, making it the smallest among the late Joseon Dynasty gwaebuls. The composition of the canvas is unique in that it has a total of six widths, with two widths of silk in the center and two widths of hemp on the left and right. 

Shakyamuni Buddha is seated cross-legged on a lotus-shaped throne in the center, and his face is expressed as compassionate and benevolent. In particular, the chubby cheeks and the small mouth in his rounded face appear soft, while his hands are large and rough compared to his slender and long arms. It is characterized by the pointed tuft of hairs on the Buddha’s crown which is decorated with a jewel, although the customary jewel in the middle of his forehead is absent. His robe is patterned with a floral motif of an imaginary celestial flower called bosanghwa, which is depicted more realistically than the conventional circular pattern.

*the article is from Central Buddhist Museum